In October 2016 NHS England launched a 12-week public consultation on a set of four commissioning policies. These so-called ‘generic’ commissioning policies set out NHS England’s position on funding treatments which are not currently routinely commissioned or are not subject to a mandated guidance from NICE.
The four policies consulted on were:
The consultation sought views on the content of the four policies, as well as whether they were sufficiently clear and effective in supporting commissioning decisions. It also sets out NHS England’s intention to streamline the number of commissioning policies to reduce duplication and provide greater clarity.
This document provides a summary of the key themes identified in the consultation responses and identifies how responses have shaped the new policies. The new policies are available to download from the NHS England website.
When first established, NHS England published a set of a set of so-called 'generic policies' to guide its decision-making for all directly commissioned services. They were called 'generic policies' as they applied to all NHS England's commissioning responsibility, rather than being service-specific. Over the last three years, most of these policies have been covered in other existing comprehensive policy documents.
Four areas still require stand-alone policies, and they are the focus of this consultation.
The four areas are: in-year service developments, individual funding requests (IFR), funding for experimental and unproven treatments, and continuing funding after clinical trials.
We welcome views from stakeholders, the public and patients on this revised set of four distinct policies.
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